It had been 42 years since there was a world title fight in Omaha, when Joe Frazier defended the heavyweight world championship against Omaha’s Ron Stander, winning by fifth-round knockout at the Civic Auditorium on May 25, 1972. On Saturday night, Terence Crawford, fighting in his hometown of Omaha, for the first time as a professional knocked out Yuriorkis Gamboa in the ninth round of a thrilling fight to retain his lightweight world title at the CenturyLink Center in front of 10,943 fans.

Crawford knocked down the former unified featherweight titleholder and 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist four times.

“I told Gamboa he picked the wrong fighter and the wrong city, and I was right,” Crawford said. “I never felt any danger in the fight.”

Gamboa said, “There were just two warriors in the ring trying to get the victory, and he won.”

Crawford knows what its like to fight a guy in his hometown. He was in Omaha a little more than three months after he went to Glasgow, Scotland, and beat hometown hero Ricky Burns to win a 135-pound title on a unanimous decision. Crawford wanted to make his first defense in his hometown.

They keep trying pro football in Omaha. Brian Woods, the founder of the Fall Experimental Football League is expected to announce today, Omaha and Austin, TX, as the first two franchises in what will be a six or eight team league in what will be known as the FXFL. Omaha would play three Wednesday night games at TD Ameritrade this first season. The six-game FXFL schedule is expected to be released by July 1.

The team will not be called the Nighthawks, the team name used when the pro team played in Omaha for three seasons in the now defunct UFL. In the first year of the UFL, Omaha drew over 22,000 fans per game…with the league in financial trouble in 2012, it drew just 6,000 per game.

The Omaha business community including ConAgra Foods, First National Bank of Omaha, Mutual of Omaha, Omaha Steaks and Union Pacific, have pledged to donate to Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning’s “Peyback Foundation” – a combined $500 from this collective of companies – every time the standout QB says “Omaha” during Sunday’s playoff game against the New England Patriots.
Last Sunday during the AFC Divisional Manning shouted the word “Omaha” on at least 40 plays, inspiring the Omaha business community to come up with their idea to help his charity.

“Omaha is a city filled with philanthropic MVPs. It’s no surprise our business leaders would take this ball and run with it. We’re pulling for a lot of Manning snaps on Sunday, a lot of ‘Omahas,’ and a lot of money for the kids helped by his foundation,” said David G. Brown, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber.

Brown and Omaha Steaks leaders will be featured in a segment about Manning and the Omaha “shout-outs” on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19. The Broncos and the Patriots kick off three hours later on CBS.

Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce president and CEO David Brown told ESPN.com that as he was watching the Peyton Manning led Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers on Sunday afternoon, he wondered how his agency could capitalize on the opportunity that Manning’s audibles are creating for the city of Omaha. Brown said he wants to explore the possibility of hiring Manning to shoot a promotional ad for Omaha.

What Brown is talking about, is that several times during the AFC Divisional game, CBS microphones were able to pick up Manning shouting out “Omaha,” among other words, numbers and phrases before the ball would be snapped back to him.

Manning and his Broncos teammates are the only people who truly know what the word means inside their offense, but Omaha is used frequently with not only other NFL quarterbacks, but also defensive players.

A few months back, Fox Sports shot a studio segment with former players Brian Urlacher and Randy Moss. When asked by studio host Jay Glazer what the word meant to him in football terms, Urlacher responded, “opposite.” Urlacher explained in his time with the Chicago Bears, if they needed to switch from one coverage to another, he would should “Omaha” to his teammates.

Moss agreed, saying the quarterback will watch to see what the safeties do and how they align up. If the quarterback feels the play will work better going in the other direction, (whether it’s a run or pass), the quarterback will yell “Omaha” alerting his teammates to run the play differently.

Much of the word has to do with alliteration…Omaha/opposite.

One thing for sure…Google searches will continue to go up for Omaha if Manning and the Broncos beat New England and head to the Super Bowl.

The NCAA announced that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA) will co-host the 2015 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha. The 2015 Championships are slated for Dec. 17-19. Omaha hosted the championship in 2006 and 2008 and the NCAA Division I Volleyball Regionals in 2005 and 2012.

Bidding for 82 of 89 NCAA championships began in July and 1,984 bid applications were ultimately submitted. Each sport committee, per division, selected the host sites it believed would provide the ultimate experience for the respective student-athletes, resulting in 523 total championship event sites awarded.

Nebraska is hosting one of four NCAA Division I Volleyball Regionals this weekend at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln.

The Omaha Country Club is hosting the 2013 U.S. Senior Open, the biggest golf event ever staged in this state, starting Monday. Corporate sponsorships for the Senior Open are estimated at $5.6 million, (topping the previous high of $5.3 million). Tournament organizers are expecting 30-35,000 spectators on the course each day. Practice rounds run Monday thru Wednesday starting at 7 a.m. The Tournament starts on Thursday.

Here’s a great article from David Shefter of USGA, on the emergence of Omaha as a major player when it comes to hosting big time sporting events.

Omaha police arrested the younger son of NBA legend Michael Jordan early Sunday morning after being called to a hotel in the Old Market district because of a disturbance. 21 year old Marcus Jordan was booked for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing. Jordan was in Omaha for the Swim Trials to cheer for a high school friend. Jordan is a senior on the Central Florida basketball team.

The story lines are plentiful for this year’s College World Series set to start today (Friday 6/15) at TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha. Two first-timers are ready for action as the Stony Brook Seawolves and Kent State Flashes make their CWS debut. How will they handle the pressure of playing on the national stage? Can South Carolina pull off the three-peat? Will number one seed Florida finally reach the ultimate goal of a national title, or will some other team step up and surprise the field, like Arkansas?

Stony Brook (located on Long Island) is 52-13 and enters Friday’s game against UCLA with the most wins in the nation. The Seawolves are the first team from New York to make it to Omaha since St. John’s in 1980. The Seawolves are second in the nation in batting average (.335), eighth in scoring (7.2 runs per game), fourth in runs (468), first in hits (731), second in triples (36), and second in slugging percentage (.483).

One reason a team like Arkansas can be dangerous is because of their stellar pitching and defense. The ‘Hogs haven’t hit well, but their arms may carry this team. The Arkansas pitching staff has a 2.00 ERA in six postseason games, striking out 37 batters and walking only nine. Defensively, they’ve committed just four errors in six games and compiling a .983 fielding percentage.

The Razorbacks are hitting just .211 in the NCAA tournament with no home runs, but at a grave yard, where long balls go to dive, that’s not necessarily a death sentences for Arkansas. Last season at TD Ameritrade Park, only nine home runs were hit in 14 games during the 2011 CWS.

South Carolina is attempting a rare CWS feat, looking to become just the second team in history to win more than two championships back to back. Southern Cal won five in a row from 1970-74. Only three other schools won back-to-back titles: Texas (’49-’50), LSU (’96-’97) and Oregon State (’06-’07).

CWS notes:

The Arizona pitching staff has combined to throw 14 complete games this season – the most of any team in the 2012 CWS.

UCLA freshman pitcher David Berg has appeared in 47 of the Bruins’ 61 games on the year, posting a 5-3 record with a Pac-12 leading 1.58 ERA. His 47 appearances are tied for second on the NCAA’s single-season all-time appearances list.

Florida State DH John Nogowski tagged along with his dad to the CWS in Omaha when he was a toddler and his dad worked for the Tallahassee Democrat. Nogowski, who grew up a Seminoles fan will not be in the starting lineup on Friday.

Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame’s induction class for 2012 includes former pro athletes Ahman Green, Erick Strickland, Reshea Bristol, Jarvis Redwine and Kerry Trotter and several others will be inducted in a ceremony on July 28 at North Omaha’s Boys and Girls Club.

Green, from Omaha Central, is the Green Bay Packers’ all-time rushing leader. Strickland, from Bellevue West, spent nine seasons in the NBA and Redwine, eligible for the hall as a former college athlete in the state, was in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. Bristol, from Omaha Bryan, and Trotter, from Omaha Creighton Prep, played in European pro basketball leagues.

The Lingerie Football League is coming to Omaha and will play in the new $32 million Ralston Sports and Event Center, joining other teams such as the Omaha Lancers hockey team, the Omaha Beef indoor football team and the University of Nebraska at Omaha men’s basketball team as tenants. The league currently has 12 teams, made up of women who play 7 on 7 football in sports bras, panties, mini shoulder pads and hockey-style helmets.

The new Ralston franchise, doesn’t have a name yet, but you can email the league with your suggestions at LFLinOmaha@LFLUS.com.

The Lingerie Football League started as pay-per-view programming during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004, and eventually became a full league in 2009. The league announced the LFL would bypass the 2012 season and delay games until next year to accommodate a spring and summer schedule.